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Articles by

Craig Stevenson

Craig Stevenson is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Justice-Denied.org. He is President and CEO of Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. (STSI), which traces its roots to Craig’s Radio & TV, founded in 1979 and renamed STSI in 1989. He also founded and operated C&R Cable Company, Inc. from 1981 until its sale in 1989. Craig and his wife, Marie, have been marr...

Craig Stevenson

Latest reporting

Browse investigations, commentary, and records-based analysis from Craig Stevenson.

By Craig StevensonPublished February 1, 2026Updated August 27, 2026About 9 min read
Distorting the Law

Did They Think We Wouldn’t Notice?

What source-checking revealed about altered quotations, omitted facts, and selectively applied rules.

There’s a moment that changes you as a litigant. Not when the complaint is filed. Not when the first aggressive email lands in your inbox. Not even when you sit through a hearing and realize the tone of the room has…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 28, 2026Updated August 6, 2026About 7 min read

The Quest for Truth Should Alarm No One

Why careful public scrutiny of judicial reasoning should never be treated as a threat.

In the Defendants’ opposition to our motion to recuse Judge Kevin Miller, they didn’t just argue law. They took aim at the act of looking—at what any ordinary person would think is the most basic right a litigant has…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 24, 2026Updated October 19, 2026About 12 min read
The Fairness Files

When the “Author” Disappears

Metadata, transparency, and public trust in Otter Tail County

One of the quiet ways courts earn (or lose) public trust is through something most people never think about: basic transparency that lets the public verify who did what. Not why a judge ruled a certain way—just who…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 21, 2026Updated September 9, 2026About 6 min read
Independent Investigations

Petition for Review (PFR) Granted in State v. Jones

Will Minnesota recognize an exception to the “bright-line” rule?

On January 21, 2026, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted review of Issue 1 (independent investigation) in State v. Jones (A24-1451). The Court granted review only on that issue—an unmistakable signal that this case is…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 17, 2026Updated August 6, 2026About 11 min read

The Misconceptions I Brought Into Court

What one lawsuit taught me about fairness, truth, accountability, and the limits of judicial safeguards.

Before, during, and after our lawsuit, I carried a long list of assumptions about how the judicial system worked—assumptions I didn’t even realize were assumptions until they started collapsing one by one. I believed…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 13, 2026Updated September 7, 2026About 11 min read
Independent Investigations

Panel Shopping in Plain Sight?

When the rule is “bright-line,” outcomes shouldn’t depend on who shows up at the last minute.

The uncomfortable question Appellate courts insist that justice is not personalized—that it does not turn on who is assigned, who is presiding, or who happens to be available on a given day. We are told, repeatedly…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 5, 2026Updated August 6, 2026About 4 min read

When Judges Admit They Were Wrong

Why judicial humility is not weakness—but a duty

There is a quiet truth rarely acknowledged within the judicial system: justice sometimes requires judges to admit they were wrong. Not on appeal. Not years later after reputations are ruined or families fractured. But…
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By Craig StevensonPublished January 4, 2026Updated October 29, 2026About 10 min read
Independent Investigations

The Truth is in the Gaps

How Leonida and Stevenson show where Minnesota’s “bright-line” rules bend—and where missing context does the real work.

For years, I’ve used a simple phrase to teach my family something that applies far beyond the courtroom: The truth is in the gaps. Because the truth is often hidden in what’s left out. Not always in what is said, but in…
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By Craig StevensonPublished December 21, 2025Updated September 4, 2026About 8 min read
The Fairness Files

Hometowned

How local relationships and institutional familiarity can quietly influence a courtroom’s treatment of the record.

“Hometowned” is an informal term for a serious courtroom dynamic: local relationships and institutional familiarity can weigh more heavily than the evidentiary record and governing law. In Stevenson v. Stevenson…
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By Craig StevensonPublished December 8, 2025Updated August 23, 2026About 14 min read
The Oversight Files

When the Message Doesn’t Match the Reality

Minnesota’s judicial watchdog promises accountability—but its complaint responses tell a different story.

In Brief: Minnesota’s Board on Judicial Standards (BJS) publicly promises accountability, impartiality, and enforcement of the Code of Judicial Conduct. But its responses to documented misconduct complaints tell a…
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By Craig StevensonPublished December 4, 2025Updated September 2, 2026About 6 min read
Independent Investigations

When the Rule Matters—and When It Doesn’t

How Minnesota’s ban on extra-record fact-finding was enforced in one case and avoided in another.

Minnesota’s courts have long recognized one of the clearest principles in due-process jurisprudence: a judge may not independently investigate facts outside the record. When they do, it is structural error—automatically…
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By Craig StevensonPublished December 2, 2025Updated August 25, 2026About 6 min read
Independent Investigations

When Structural Error Applies for Some

Two cases, the same extra-record conduct, and a constitutional rule that produced no relief.

Minnesota’s Supreme Court has long held that when a judge independently investigates or considers facts outside the record, the resulting violation is structural error requiring automatic reversal. That rule…
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About the author

Craig Stevenson

Craig Stevenson is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Justice-Denied.org. He is President and CEO of Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. (STSI), which traces its roots to Craig’s Radio & TV, founded in 1979 and renamed STSI in 1989. He also founded and operated C&R Cable Company, Inc. from 1981 until its sale in 1989. Craig and his wife, Marie, have been married for more than 36 years and are the parents of two adult daughters.